AMHERST JUNCTION – Edwin Damask, 91, of Amherst Junction, died on March 28, 2026 with family at his side. Edwin lived life to its fullest with courage and an endless determination to not permit Lewy Body Dementia to define who he was. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, April 6, 2026 at 11:00AM at Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Polonia), 7375 Church Street, Custer. Reverend Mark Miller will officiate. The rosary will be prayed in the church at 8:45AM with visitation to follow beginning at 9:00AM and the Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree Honor Guard posting until the time of the Mass. Pallbearers are Dennis & Douglas Damask, Paul & Lyle Eiden, Lenny Luedtke, and Roy Munroe. Burial with full military honors will follow the Mass in the parish cemetery.

Edwin was born on September 2, 1934 to Leo Damask and Helen (Dombeck) in the town of New Hope, the 5th child of six children. He was blessed to also be welcomed by three sisters and one brother – children of Leo and Helen’s previous marriages in which each of their spouses had died and they were joined together in marriage. Edwin attended Malloy School (1st - 5th & 8th grade), Sacred Heart Catholic School (6th & 7th grade), graduating from Rosholt High School in 1953. On February 14, 1955, he entered the U.S. Army, stationed in Fort Leonardwood, MO, and Fort Hustus, VR. On April 1, 1956 he traveled by boat to Bamberg, Germany. Specialist 3rd Class Edwin, awarded the Good Conduct Medal, was honorably discharged on February 7, 1957.

Upon return home, he was employed as a custodian at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish and School, Wisconsin Rapids.

Edwin and Elizabeth “Betty” (Kedrowski) met at a dance on May 3, 1957 and were married on September 24, 1960 at St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church, Fancher – celebrating 65 ½ years of marriage. Together they resided in Wisconsin Rapids before Edwin returned to his birth farm in1961 where he continued to live and farm until May 2025 when he resided at The Willows, Iola.

Edwin and Betty welcomed four children into their lives to whom he passed on his love for farming, fixing, being innovative, and an appreciation of nature and God’s creatures/critters, monitoring the weather (when the sun shines, you make hay), welcoming new life into his hands and heart (calves, piglets, chicks, ducklings, rabbits, kittens, etc.), working the land and producing your own food, strong work ethics, making wood to stoke the furnace and kitchen wood stove, understanding that if you see something that needs to be done – don’t wait to be asked – just do it. Edwin’s gnarled hands and crooked fingers tell the story of milking cows by hand, carrying milk cans and buckets of milk, and bales of hay/straw. His steps across the yard, the fields and the barn were accompanied by his beautiful whistling, or singing an old country music song, or a polka. Vacation was a Sunday drive to “nowhere” that always ended up “somewhere” only known to him but enjoyed by all who rode along before the 4PM hour beckoned a return home to do chores and milk cows or attending a local farm auction with his farming buddies or a drive with a truckful of scrap metal being delivered to the scrap yard.

Edwin also enjoyed time spent helping his son move and repair logging equipment, an annual reunion with his army buddies, celebrating his daughter’s or grandson’s bagged turkey or buck, an ultralight or Pitts Special biplane fly-over by his son, anticipating the arrival of a grandchild or great-grandchild and always asking “they must be getting bigger”, fishing with his son-in-law and daughter, freely offering a “smart/quick-witted” reply or comment with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes and a grin that you knew you’d been “caught” and “out-smarted” again, sneaking a morsel of food off of another’s plate when he was able to get you to look away just long enough, joining good friends and Betty for a casino encounter, attending John Deere Club meetings with friends, volunteering at Portage County June Dairy Days, Sacred Heart Parish Picnic, and attending Wisconsin Farm Tech Days or Mid-State farm tours/dinner, and watching the Packers and Brewers. He is a member of the St. Isadore Society, Holy Name Society, and Portage Country Farm Bureau.

Edwin was blessed by Betty’s unceasing care and compassion, ensuring his warmth through layered clothing, comfortable sleep with pillows placed perfectly, home-cooked meals and an endless supply of his favorite cookies and chocolate candies. Each and every day ended with night prayers - a rosary and prayer book always within his reach.

Edwin is survived by his wife, Betty; daughters, Dorothy (Daniel Flees), Denise Munroe and sons, Dennis and Douglas; seven grandchildren, i.e., Kathryn (David Gadke), Cynthia (Thomas “TJ” Varjabedian), Heidi (Mitchell Kolodziej), Roy Munroe (Emily), Ashley (DJ Johnson), Chandra Munroe and Alexis Munroe; 16 great-grandchildren, i.e., Cheyenne, Jeremiah, Oliver, Elliot, Theodore, Alexander and Larayna Gadke; Bryson, Haezel, Nolan, Elijah, and Isaiah Varjabedian; John and Stella Kolodziej; Opal and Owen Johnson and five step-great grandchildren, i.e., Corbin, Domonic, Braden, Alton, and Evelynn Johnson. He is also survived by his brothers and sister-in-law, William “Willy” Damask and Maurice (Sandy) Damask and many nieces and nephews.

Edwin was predeceased by his parents, father and mother-in-law, Ben and Laura Kedrowksi, siblings and their spouses, i.e., Dorothy (Jim Newman), Joseph (Joan) Kozicki, Virginia (Loren Cain), Susie (Emil Wanta), Alois (Anne) Domaszek, Daniel, Hattie (Joseph Liebe), and Jeannette Damask, great grandchildren, Nicolas Gabriel Gadke and Catherine Gerard Varjabedian and many aunts/uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, brother and sister-in-laws.

Edwin’s family wishes to extend their gratitude to the family/friends who visited him frequently on the farm and at the assisted living facility and The Willows caregivers, custodian, and chef, Powerback Rehab physical therapist and occupational therapist, the St. Croix Hospice nurses, aide, chaplain, massage therapist, music therapist, social worker, and physician and for Rev. Mark Miller’s blessings and prayers. The stories you shared and the ways in which you entered into his world – caring for the cows, calves, horses, cats, making hay (even when it was a blizzard outside), fixing the silo unloader, elevator, truck, or tractor, heeding his warning to be careful to not trip over the string, making sure he was comfortable and safe – allowed him to live with dignity, respecting his “happy place” and his unending passion of being “just a farmer”.

In honor of Edwin, please visit this link to view 'So God Made a Farmer' Speech to the FFA. Click the title to be taken to the page.

Have no doubt, Edwin is working the fields, planting and harvesting the crops, tending the cows, fixing what needs fixing, and will continue to do so for eternity.

We miss you Edwin / Dad / Grandpa / Brother / Uncle / Friend. We will always be grateful for the many gifts you passed on to those whose lives you touched in so many ways. Dementia knows no seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks or years – we were blessed beyond measure to be a part of your journey. You helped all of us to be a better person. Love you Forever!

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made for a memorial for Edwin which will be determined in the future.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Edwin will be held on Monday April 6, 2026, at 11:00 AM at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 7375 Church Street, Custer. Rev. Mark Miller will officiate. Visitation will be held at the church from 9:00 AM until the time of service. Burial with full military honors will follow the mass in the parish cemetery. 

We invite and encourage those wishing to order flowers for the Damask Family to do so directly on the Pisarski Funeral Home website which will take you to a local florist. This will ensure timely delivery.